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Explore our planet through photography and imagery, including climate change and water all the way back to the 1800s when the USGS was surveying the country by horse and buggy.

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Image of children surrounding USGS drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, at the Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Drone demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Drone demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Drone demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, provides a demonstration of drone capabilities at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Image of USGS Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra sharing science at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Oceanographic Modeling demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Oceanographic Modeling demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Oceanographic Modeling demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra, talking to children about oceanographic modeling at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Image of USGS scientist, Meagan Gonneea, at the Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares science
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares science
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares science

USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event

Image of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants
USGS Science Stroll Dream Team
USGS Science Stroll Dream Team
USGS Science Stroll Dream Team

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants; Dann Blackwood, Andrea Toran, Emily Sturdivant, Ellyn Montgomery, Sara Zeigler, Neil Ganju, Seth Ackerman, Laura Brothers, Meagan Gonneea

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants; Dann Blackwood, Andrea Toran, Emily Sturdivant, Ellyn Montgomery, Sara Zeigler, Neil Ganju, Seth Ackerman, Laura Brothers, Meagan Gonneea

USGS scientist standing knee deep in Mohawk River getting SOD sample
SOD sampling Mohawk RIver
SOD sampling Mohawk RIver
SOD sampling Mohawk RIver

USGS scientist SOD sampling in the Mohawk RIver

Hydrologist collecting a water sample from a domestic well
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well

A USGS hydrologist collects a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.  Learn more about domestic wells here.

American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western NA.
American pika in the Northern Cascades.
American pika in the Northern Cascades.
American pika in the Northern Cascades.

American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western North America.

murky water body surrounded by green trees
Turbid Waters, Little Holland Tract, Bay-Delta
Turbid Waters, Little Holland Tract, Bay-Delta
Turbid Waters, Little Holland Tract, Bay-Delta

Turbid waters in the Little Holland Tract area of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, California. Turbidity affects light penetration and  ecological productivity, recreational values, and habitat quality, and causes lakes to fill in faster.

Turbid waters in the Little Holland Tract area of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, California. Turbidity affects light penetration and  ecological productivity, recreational values, and habitat quality, and causes lakes to fill in faster.

USGS WERC scientist Brian Halstead gestures to an abandoned house that has become a bat roost
Brian Halstead with Bat Maternity Roost
Brian Halstead with Bat Maternity Roost
Brian Halstead with Bat Maternity Roost

Dr. Brian Halstead, USGS WERC, gestures to the Randall House, now abandoned, constructed in the early 20th century. The house is now maintained by the National Park Service as a maternity roost for Townsend's Big-Eared bats.

Dr. Brian Halstead, USGS WERC, gestures to the Randall House, now abandoned, constructed in the early 20th century. The house is now maintained by the National Park Service as a maternity roost for Townsend's Big-Eared bats.

Photo of driftwood and sand dunes at Point Reyes National Seashore
Driftwood and Dunes - Point Reyes
Driftwood and Dunes - Point Reyes
Driftwood and Dunes - Point Reyes

Photo of driftwood, and invasive grasses and iceplant at Point Reyes National Seashore, CA. Such "dune drainages" make surprising habitat for a threatened species of amphibian: the California red-legged frog.

Photo of driftwood, and invasive grasses and iceplant at Point Reyes National Seashore, CA. Such "dune drainages" make surprising habitat for a threatened species of amphibian: the California red-legged frog.

Josh Logan operates a drone carrying a precision GPS and special camera to map the shore at Long Beach, Washington
Drone carrying a precision GPS and special camera to map the shore
Drone carrying a precision GPS and special camera to map the shore
Drone carrying a precision GPS and special camera to map the shore

Josh Logan operates a drone carrying a precision GPS and special camera to map the shore at Long Beach, Washington. USGS scientists used the same system for detailed mapping of beaches beside Monterey Bay, California. 

Josh Logan operates a drone carrying a precision GPS and special camera to map the shore at Long Beach, Washington. USGS scientists used the same system for detailed mapping of beaches beside Monterey Bay, California. 

Driftwood and sand dunes at Point Reyes National Seashore
Large Driftwood and Dunes at Point Reyes
Large Driftwood and Dunes at Point Reyes
Pat Kleeman searches for CA red-legged frogs
Pat Kleeman Searches for CA Red-Legged Frogs
Pat Kleeman Searches for CA Red-Legged Frogs
Pat Kleeman Searches for CA Red-Legged Frogs

Pat Kleeman, USGS WERC, searches for threatened California red-legged frogs in a dune drainage, Point Reyes National Seashore.

Pat Kleeman, USGS WERC, searches for threatened California red-legged frogs in a dune drainage, Point Reyes National Seashore.

A lot of small fish from a fyke net set near Kaktovik, AK.  Biologists sort through them.
The catch from a fyke net set near Kaktovik, Alaska
The catch from a fyke net set near Kaktovik, Alaska
The catch from a fyke net set near Kaktovik, Alaska

Biologists identify species, count, measure length, and release thousands of fish each year to understand how fish use nearshore habitats.

Biologists identify species, count, measure length, and release thousands of fish each year to understand how fish use nearshore habitats.

Photo of dead trees and forest at Point Reyes National Seashore
Trees at Point Reyes National Seashore
Trees at Point Reyes National Seashore
Trees at Point Reyes National Seashore

Dead trees like the ones featured in this photo still provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including birds.

Dead trees like the ones featured in this photo still provide valuable habitat for wildlife, including birds.

A fish trap set in the ocean along the shore near Kaktovik, AK
A fyke net set to catch nearshore fish near Kaktovik, Alaska
A fyke net set to catch nearshore fish near Kaktovik, Alaska
A fyke net set to catch nearshore fish near Kaktovik, Alaska

A fyke net or fish trap used for continuous sampling of nearshore fish in shallow waters. Fish swimming along the beach are stopped by a small-mesh net that guides them in to one of these two underwater fish traps that are set side by side. Researchers visit nets at least once a day to identify, count, and release fish.

A fyke net or fish trap used for continuous sampling of nearshore fish in shallow waters. Fish swimming along the beach are stopped by a small-mesh net that guides them in to one of these two underwater fish traps that are set side by side. Researchers visit nets at least once a day to identify, count, and release fish.

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